Natalie, the key problem to avoid is sleep deprivation from hot flashes, as flares can result. There are a few antidepressant meds that reduce hot flashes that you can discuss with your doctor if needed. Hormone replacement is another option, though any form of estrogen may aggravate lupus, increase blood clot risk, and increase breast cancer risk. You should discuss this with both your gyn and rheumatologist.

@Sher--I'm glad you're tolerating the transdermal estrogen well.

The hot flashes were the worst. It's been a good 15 years of hot flashes, but not having the menstrual pain and heavy flow was worth all the hot flashes.

When I started going through menopause i was in my early 40’s i was sent to a Gynecologist who wanted
To start my cycle back up again she says with this you’ll bleed for 3 weeks & you’ll have one week without. & camps will be much worse. I refused to go back to get the injection she wanted to give me ,
to start it up, i didnt go back ,let nature take its course was my thought. i wasnt given anything to help any of the symptoms because i was told with lupus you can’t take anything. I went though it on my own , know it wasnt easy . Im Glad its long over 😀. I used a turbo fan to help with the hot flashes year round my husband hated it, i froze him out. Lol

@A MyLupusTeam Member have not experienced any problems with it at all, but as I said, the only menopausal issue I have is hot flushes (only happens if I skip my HRT) and even then, it's manageable. I was advised to take it as more of a precautionary measure for my bones. Luckily for me, my lupus has never seemed to be overly bothered by estrogen.

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A MyLupus...

Hey y'all here is the fan that follows me from room to room. Found it at the bins, weighs nothing so it hardley cost me anything.